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  • 252 districts place bonds on the ballot; here’s how two would spend the money

    252 districts place bonds on the ballot; here’s how two would spend the money


    El Camino Fundamental High School principal Evelyn Welborn explains how rainwater leaks through hallway windows, causing teachers to use trash cans to collect the water.

    Credit: Andrew Reed / EdSource

    Renovating a high school that swelters in summer and gushes leaks in winter is a priority of a large Sacramento-area district. Replacing an undersized gym with no air conditioning is a priority of a small high school district in Kern County.

    The to-do list varies among the hundreds of school districts that have placed construction bonds before voters on Nov. 5, but urgency is what they share in common. In California, the list of school buildings needing attention is long and growing, compounded by climate change that is exposing more of the state to unprecedented levels of heat and unhealthy air.

    In 2020, anxiety about an unknown virus, Covid-19, led voters to defeat half of the local bonds on the ballot that year and discouraged many districts from placing bonds before voters in 2022. The suppressed demand has resulted in a record 252 school districts seeking $40 billion worth of renovation and new construction projects, including classrooms for the youngest students, transitional kindergartners, and space for “maker labs” and innovative career explorations for high schoolers.

    Many of the districts are hoping to seek financial help from Proposition 2, a $10 billion state construction bond for TK-12 and community colleges, that the Legislature also has put on the Nov. 5 statewide ballot. Passage would begin to replenish state assistance, which has run dry from the $9 billion bond passed in 2016, and create a new list of projects eligible for state help in the future.

    This report is the first day of a two-day look at a sampling of districts from different parts of the state that are asking their voters to pass local bonds. First, we visit San Juan Unified and Wasco Union High School District. Tuesday, read about Modesto City Schools, Fresno Unified and neighboring Central Unified.

    San Juan Unified School District

    San Juan Unified
    • Sacramento County
    • 49,840 students
    • 61% low-income, foster and English learner students
    • $22,243 bonding capacity per student*

    * Bonding capacity is the maximum amount of general obligation bonds a school district can issue at a given time. A district can never go over the ceiling.  For unified districts, it is 2.5% of total assessed valuation; the median in California is $25,569 per student.

    El Camino Fundamental High School in Sacramento was quiet Thursday as temperatures rose to 103 degrees. Few of the school’s 1,300 students lingered in the halls, where there is no air conditioning and open windows provide the only air circulation.

    Even air conditioning in classrooms is not always reliable. Teachers and their students have had to double up with other classes at times when some systems fail.

    The upcoming rainy season won’t offer much relief at the 70-year-old school. Water from leaks travels down walls and into lockers in the halls and drenches expensive machinery in the metal shop.

    In one particularly bad spot, teachers have taken to tying a garbage can to one window with a rope, to collect the water before it floods the hallway floor. 

    School staff must regularly snake out a sewer access that has spewed sewage across walkways students must traverse to enter a classroom.

    Renovating the school is one of the priorities of San Juan Unified School District if voters pass Measure P, a $950 million general obligation bond. The measure will update classrooms, repair leaky roofs, improve school security, provide safe drinking water, and remove asbestos and lead paint from the district’s aging schools.

    The bond will cost homeowners $60 per $100,000 of their home’s value — $300 a year for a house worth $500,000.

    The improvements will improve education and retain teachers, said Superintendent Melissa Bassanelli in a message on the district website.

    “Quality classrooms and good teachers are essential to student learning,” Bassanelli wrote. “If passed by voters, Measure P funds will help the district upgrade career technical education classrooms, math and science labs and ensure that students have access to a well-rounded education including music, visual and performing arts.”

    During a tour of El Camino Fundamental, principal Evelyn Welborn pointed out a crowded biology classroom where 36 students sat elbow to elbow with little space or updated equipment for lab work.

    “We have fantastic programs going on,” Welborn said. “Unfortunately, our building was built in the 1950s, so we’re doing, trying to do 21st century learning in a 20th century building, which doesn’t always work.”

    If the bond passes, El Camino Fundamental could have some buildings renovated and others razed and replaced, potentially with a two-story building, said Frank Camarda, chief operations officer for the district. The buildings that are renovated would be gutted and have new windows, ceilings, lighting, flooring, plumbing and electrical, he said.

    The San Juan district needs $3.5 billion to complete all the work needed at its 64 schools, Camarda said, adding that district leaders expect to get $90 million in facilities funds from the state’s Proposition 2, a public education facilities bond, if it passes on Nov. 5.

    If Measure P does not pass, the district — in a worst-case scenario — would have to focus on repairing and maintaining roofs, heating and air conditioning units, and electrical systems at its schools, Camarda said.

    The district passed a $750 million bond measure eight years ago and used the funds to update schools like Dyer-Kelly Elementary School, located just three miles from the high school. The old elementary school was razed and replaced with a two-story school five years ago.

    Dyer-Kelly Elementary teacher Hallie Lozano engages with a kindergarten student during outdoor playtime.
    Credit: Andrew Reed / EdSource

    Dyer-Kelly Elementary teacher Hallie Lozano remembers the leaky roofs, failing air conditioner, lack of storage and limited number of bathrooms in the 70-year-old school before it was torn down and replaced.

    “That was a big deal, Lozano said. “It was really hard (for teachers) to just get into the bathroom before your next period.” 

    Now teachers and students at the K-5 school have access to numerous bathrooms, assemble in a modern amphitheater and take part in drama productions on a stage in the cafeteria.

    Spacious classrooms now have whiteboards, television sets, bulletin boards and ample storage.

    The school, with about 97% of its 800 students from low-income families and 60% English learners, has become the centerpiece of the community.

    Principal Jamal Hicks says about 150 people show up outside the school each evening to visit and watch their children play on the school lawn and sidewalks. He says the school provides safe, well-lit space that isn’t readily available elsewhere in the community.

    “The school is like a beacon for the entire community,” Hicks said. 

    Updating school facilities at San Juan Unified, a district of 40,000 students, has to be a comprehensive step-by-step long-term process, Camarda said. 

    “You can’t do it all at once,” he said. “You have to keep everything functioning, but you also have to start making some bold moves and replacing the oldest of your inventory. … So we’ve changed our philosophy, and it seems to be working really well.” 

    Wasco Union High School District

    When it rains or gets hot in Wasco — and it’s often scorching — Wasco Union High School often has to resort to a backup plan for P.E. classes because of the state of its current gym. 

    WAsco Union High School District
    • Kern County
    • 1,807 students
    • 89% low-income, foster and English learner students
    • $31,672 bonding capacity per student*

    * Bonding capacity per student is the maximum amount of general obligation bonds a school district can issue at a given time. A district can never go over the ceiling. For high school districts it is 1.25% of total assessed valuation; the median in California is $25,569.

    “Anytime we cannot be outside, (the students) have to sit in the bleachers and do online assignments,” said Millie Alvarado, P.E. department head.

    A new gym with air conditioning is a key project that Wasco Union High School District is promoting as a part of Measure D, a $35.4 million education bond measure on the ballot in this rural Kern County community this November. The bond will cost homeowners $30 per $100,000 of their home’s value – $94 a year for a house worth $314,000, the median value in Wasco, according to Zillow.

    A warm, sunny climate has made Wasco a national leader in rose production, but temperatures that soar above 90 degrees for a third of the year also make it unsafe for students to do anything physically rigorous outside. 

    That wouldn’t be such a problem if Wasco Union High School had an air-conditioned gymnasium, like most high schools in Kern County.

    Wasco’s lone comprehensive high school gym just has swamp coolers, with an evaporative cooling system that is no match for the triple digit heat that hits the region with increasing regularity.

    “We’re trying to really help the community to understand the safety component of it,” said Superintendent Kevin Tallon. “It’s just not a safe campus when you look at the safety standards that other facilities have in most Kern County schools.”

    This year, paramedics were called when a student passed out due to heat during P.E., Tallon added. Athletes who rely on the gym for games, after-school practice or summer conditioning feel the effects acutely.

    “You feel like you’re suffocating,” said Rosalia Sanchez, a senior and varsity volleyball player.

    Principal Rusvel Prado said the roof has been patched over many times but still leaks when it rains. 

    Even when the weather cooperates, the gym does a poor job accommodating the nearly 1,700 students who attend Wasco Union High. For school pep rallies, about half of the student body overflows outdoors. Locker rooms are cramped and unventilated, which Alvarado says is not ideal when 200 to 300 students are changing into and out of gym clothes each class period.

    Measure D was developed with community feedback, Tallon said. The district was able to pass a bond measure in 2008 that modernized and upgraded heating and air conditioning systems for much of the campus, which was built in 1915. But two follow-up bond measures failed — one by a fraction of a percentage point in 2018, and one by 3.3 points in March 2020.

    In the 2008 bond, classrooms took priority over the gymnasium, which dates back to the 1950s. Tallon said that if the new bond proposal passes, it would allow for 80% of the campus to be modernized over the next 20 years.

    Campus security has become a bigger priority for schools in recent years. The bond measure will also go toward upgrading door locks, alarms, cameras, lighting and emergency communication systems. The west section of campus, where career technical and dual enrollment courses are held, is unfenced — a major safety concern in an era of mass shootings, Tallon said. 

    Pathways to college and career have received a renewed focus in California, bringing new facility needs. Wasco Union High’s construction program has a cramped shop without air conditioning. The building that will ultimately house dual enrollment students was set on fire by an arsonist who attacked local schools, according to local news reports. The district owns an off-campus farm that trains agricultural students, but there is no plumbing or safe drinking water — something the bond money aims to address.

    The measure is asking for nearly the full amount of the $36 million bonding capacity of the community. Wasco Union High School District plans to apply for Proposition 2 funds, if it passes. The proposition will prioritize districts like Wasco, where its residents’ incomes are low — 88% of students qualify as socioeconomically disadvantaged. However, Tallon doesn’t believe that proposition or other state funding sources will be sufficient to help the district.

    “We’re sensitive to the fact that it’s a tough economic time right now when it comes to inflation,” Tallon said. “But we also try to provide as much information as we can about the cost of the bond measure to the homeowner. For what you get in return for the quality of schools, we feel it’s money well spent.”





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  • Let’s stop tinkering and really change how schools address mental health

    Let’s stop tinkering and really change how schools address mental health


    Credit: Allison Shelley for American Education

    What are education leaders doing about transforming the way schools address learning, behavior and emotional problems? The current answer, it seems, is: not much.

    We do see increasing discussions among education leaders about transforming education in general. Naturally, much of the focus is on improving instruction and making major changes in how schools are managed (e.g., financed, administered, held accountable). However, when it comes to improving how schools play their role in providing support when students are not doing well, proposals for transformative changes generally are not forthcoming.

    The result: As the number of learning, behavior and emotional problems increases, schools continue to react in inadequate ways.

    What’s wrong with what schools are doing now?

    All schools devote resources to coping with student problems. Some are able to offer a range of student and learning supports; others can provide only what is mandated. In the majority of schools, what is available usually covers relatively few students. More resources would help. But school budgets always are tight, and adding the number of student support staff that advocates call for is really not in the cards.

    In general, districts plan and implement student and learning supports in a fragmented and piecemeal manner, generating a variety of specialized programs and services. Over many years, increasing concern about fragmented approaches has produced calls for “integrated services” and, recently, for “integrated support systems.”

    However, by focusing primarily on fragmentation, policymakers and school improvement advocates fail to deal with a core underlying problem. What drives the fragmentation is the longstanding marginalization in school improvement policy of the role schools must play in addressing barriers to learning and teaching.

    A fundamental challenge for education leaders and policymakers is ending this marginalization. Meeting the challenge requires escaping old ways of thinking about how schools address learning, behavior and emotional problems.

    What might a transformed approach look like?

    Addressing the pervasive and complex barriers that impede effective teaching and student learning requires a systemwide approach that comprehensively and equitably supports whole-child development and learning. This involves districts and schools rethinking how they frame the practices they use to address learning, behavior and emotional problems.

    In this respect, the current widespread adoption of some form of a multitiered “continuum of interventions” (commonly known as MTSS) is a partial step in the right direction. This framework recognizes that a full range of intervention must include a focus on promoting whole-student healthy development, preventing problems, providing immediate assistance when problems appear, and ensuring assistance for serious and chronic special education concerns. But moving forward, our research has clarified the need to reframe each level of intervention into subsystems designed to weave together school and community resources.

    Moreover, our research indicates that the various programs, services, initiatives and strategies can be grouped into six domains of classroom and schoolwide student and learning support. The six arenas encompass interventions that:

    • Embed student and learning supports into regular classroom strategies to enable learning and teaching
    • Support transitions (e.g., new grade, new school, before/after school, during lunch and other daily transitions)
    • Increase home and school connections and engagement
    • Respond to — and, where feasible, prevent — school and personal crises
    • Increase community involvement and collaborative engagement
    • Facilitate student and family access to special assistance.

    Organizing the activity in this way helps clarify what supports are needed in and out of the classroom and across each level of the continuum to enable effective teaching and motivate student learning.

    We recognize that the changes education leaders are already pursuing represent considerable challenges and that the changes we discuss can be daunting.

    But maintaining the status quo is untenable, and just doing more tinkering will not meet the need.

    Transforming how schools play their role in addressing barriers to learning and teaching into a unified, comprehensive and equitable system that is fully integrated into school improvement policy and practice is essential to enhancing equity of opportunity for students to succeed at school and beyond.

    •••

    Howard Adelman and Linda Taylor are co-directors of the Center for MH in Schools & Student/Learning Supports at UCLA, an initiative to improve outcomes for students by helping districts and their schools enhance how they address barriers to learning and teaching.

    The opinions expressed in this commentary represent those of the authors. EdSource welcomes commentaries representing diverse points of view. If you would like to submit a commentary, please review our guidelines and contact us.





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  • Report: How dual enrollment in California compares with other states

    Report: How dual enrollment in California compares with other states


    Students attend Sociology 101 at Aspire Ollin University Preparatory Academy, one of several dual enrollment classes offered at the school in partnership with East Los Angeles College this semester.

    Credit: Kate Sequeira / EdSource

    A national report finds that dual enrollment can be a powerful strategy for addressing equity gaps in college enrollment and completion rates, but that the students who most need dual enrollment — Black, Latino and low-income students — still struggle to access it.

    The problem of limited access to dual enrollment is true in California, as well as the rest of the nation, according to a report released Monday night by the Community College Research Center (CCRC) at Teachers College, Columbia University.

    The study followed students who began taking dual enrollment courses in 2015, typically high school juniors or seniors, through 2021 using data from the National Student Clearinghouse. Researchers say this report is the first look at college outcomes for dual enrollment students after they graduate from high school with results broken down by race, income and gender — at both the state and national level.

    This report demonstrates how California’s dual enrollment students fare in college compared with other states through a data dashboard.

    For instance, it shows that California students earning college credit in high school are about as likely to enroll in college in the year after high school as other dually enrolled students across the country: 80% compared with 81% nationally. However, dual enrollment students in California are less likely to complete any kind of college degree in the four years after high school: 34% compared to 42% nationally.

    According to John Fink, a senior research associate at the Community College Research Center who is one of the report’s authors, the report raises questions about why some states have much stronger outcomes or better access than others.

    The report shows that some dual enrollment programs have great outcomes but may not have much access, while others have great access but not great outcomes. The best programs, Fink said, have both — the ability to open the doors widely and offer support to ensure students are successful. 

    That’s the best way to “fully realize the potential of dual enrollment to broaden college access and attainment and equity,” Fink said.

    Caliifornia’s Black, Latino and low-income students in dual enrollment lag behind their counterparts on metrics such as college-going rates or college completion, according to the report. However, these same students are much more likely to do better after high school than those students who are not in dual enrollment.

    In California, 25% of Black students in dual enrollment courses were able to attain a bachelor’s degree, compared to 17% of those who had no dual enrollment. Likewise, 20% of Hispanic students in dual enrollment received a bachelor’s degree four years after graduating high school compared to 13% who were never dual enrolled.

    Black students tend to be underrepresented in dual enrollment nationally, but nationally the students that do enroll are more likely to attend four-year colleges, enroll in more selective colleges and major in STEM fields, which have high-earning potential.

    “The implication is that we need to address the issues around access to dual enrollment for Black students and increase the supports, because we see here what the potential is for increasing postsecondary access and attainment,” Fink said.

    The report does not have specific data on why one state might perform better than another, but Fink noted that policies such as charging for classes, requiring certain test scores and other administrative hoops can limit access to dual enrollment for groups who could most benefit.

    California was notable in that it relied much more heavily on community colleges for dual enrollment: 87% of its dually enrolled students are taking classes through community colleges compared with 72% nationally.

    Students who took dual enrollment courses in California were more likely to continue at a community college after high school, 41% compared to 30% for the rest of the country.

    The report found that dual enrollment programs offered by four-year universities tended to have better outcomes, but these institutions under-enrolled Black, Latino or low income students. These programs were more likely to be restrictive and have barriers, such as having more eligibility requirements and not offering transportation.

    The year that the study began following students — 2015– was an important one for dual enrollment in California. That was the year the state passed the College and Career Pathways Act, which made it easier for colleges and K-12 schools to work together to expand access to college courses for high school students. The legislation specifically named dual enrollment as a strategy to improve outcomes for students who struggle with academics or are at risk of dropping out.

    Dual enrollment more than doubled between 2015 and 2021 in California. Though California is the most populous state, its dual enrollment numbers in 2015 were just a fraction of Texas’. Other states with better developed dual enrollment programs in 2015 include Florida and Ohio.

    Fink noted that while a lot has changed in dual enrollment since 2015, research has demonstrated that many of the problems highlighted by this study remain, such as persistent gaps in access for students who are Black, Latino and low-income.

    An analysis of data by EdSource in 2022 found that Black and Latino students were disproportionately underrepresented in dual enrollment classes.





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  • How a caring teacher can make or break school for young students

    How a caring teacher can make or break school for young students


    Credit: Allison Shelley for American Education

    Este artículo está disponible en Español. Léelo en español.

    The pint-sized pupils in Paula Merrigan’s transitional kindergarten, or TK, class often call her mom, or sometimes even grandma. One reason there’s such a strong teacher-student bond boils down to warmth. Merrigan makes sure all the children are greeted with a big smile when they enter the classroom in the morning, she works with every single one of them one-on-one at some point during the day, and she is generous with praise, hugs and affection. 

    “When a small child tells you they love you, say it back to them!” said the veteran Castro Valley Unified teacher. “They need to know you care. Imagine telling someone, “I love you,” and all you hear back is, “Thank you,” or “OK.” How would that make you feel versus being told, “I love you, too?”  If you don’t want to be that specific, you can also say, “I love all of you too.”

    Merrigan knows that caring is just as important as the curriculum when it comes to small children. Unless they feel nurtured, they may well struggle to learn.

    Paula Merrigan

    “It is so important for every child to feel that their teacher truly cares about them, that school is always a safe place to be,” said Merrigan, who also serves on the National Education Association’s (NEA) board of directors for California. “If they don’t make that connection with their teacher, it can impact their learning. When they know you truly care about them, they want to do their best for you, because they are seeking your approval.  If they think you don’t care, they don’t care.”

    That’s one reason why some little children hate going to school. Consider the case of a first grade boy who had a tantrum when a teacher threw his artwork away. Or a kindergartner who cried when a teacher scolded her for starting her math worksheet too early. Adults may have different criteria for an academic environment, but for small children, friendliness is often the bottom line.

    “It’s really just little things like these that make a big difference to a child,” said Merrigan. “When you take them to the office, for whatever reason, they need to know it’s a safe space as well. The cafeteria needs to be welcoming when they are going to get food. Often, young children are just looking for a friendly smile to make them feel better when at school.”

    Merrigan also takes pain to listen to the children. She lets them tell her their stories, and she learns where their interests lie so she can engage them more deeply.

    “When you learn about certain things they like and tie that into your curriculum, they love it,” she said. “Not that you’re creating a new curriculum.  Maybe you’re just recognizing that the children told you they really like dinosaurs so when you’re teaching the letter ‘D,’ you create a dinosaur art project to go with it.”  

    Separation anxiety hits many youngsters hard as they struggle to let go of their caregiver’s hand when entering the kindergarten classroom. Sometimes it’s the first time they’ll be away from home for a whole day. That stress can feel like a huge chasm for families to cross.

    How the child feels at the beginning of their schooling can set the tone for the rest of their academic life, experts say. That’s why the emotional component of early education can not be overlooked. 

    “This is so important for little ones because this is often the first time that young children are experiencing formal education,” said Hedy Chang, executive director of Attendance Works, a nonprofit that works to boost student attendance. “It may be one of the first times that they are in the care of someone who is not their parent or another adult family member. They are learning how to learn, make friends, overcome conflicts, and thrive outside their home. … What happens during this time can help lay the foundation for social and academic success.”

    Mónica Zegers said her daughter Elena had jitters about starting a new school in the middle of the year. Luckily, the teacher had students write little welcome notes to her before she arrived. It was a small gesture that made a magical difference to the third grader. She now keeps the jar of notes in her desk so she can reread them at her leisure. 

    “This was a wonderful act of kindness that should be celebrated,” said Zegers, a Concord mother of two and a postdoctoral scholar at the UCSF Dyslexia Center. “Many teachers now are overwhelmed, and they don’t have the cognitive bandwidth to really address these social-emotional needs.”

    Creating an atmosphere of kindness and generosity is fundamental to learning in the early grades, experts say. That’s why many believe creating a nurturing environment may be key to healing the rifts between many families and schools that grew during the pandemic. Even one caring adult on campus, whether it’s a teacher, a coach or a music teacher, can make the difference between a child who wants to go to school and one who dreads it.

    Deborah Stipek

    “I’m not sure there is anything as important for young children than feeling comfortable with the teacher,” said Deborah Stipek, an expert in early childhood education at Stanford University. “There is a lot of research on the importance of teacher sensitivity to young children and the relationship between teacher and child. And there is evidence that mental health and behavioral problems have risen since Covid, and the teacher’s sensitivity is all the more important now.”

    Amid the youth mental health crisis, it’s more important than ever to make sure children feel a sense of belonging on campus, experts say. The emotional connection between adult and child can be the reason children feel motivated to overcome obstacles, from social anxiety to coping with a playground bully at school.

    “What are the little teeny steps that you can provide so people feel comfortable?” said Mary Jane Burke, who served 28 years as Marin County’s superintendent of schools and serves on the EdSource board of directors. “If you are in a great classroom, you can see it in everything that they do. It’s there in the way they greet the children in the morning. I’m huge on relationships; those are the things that I think buoy us in hard times. It can just make such a difference in how you feel.”

    Despite its significance to student achievement, not all teacher preparation programs cover how to meet emotional needs as comprehensively as they should, experts say.

    “Teacher prep programs vary hugely in how much and how well they address social-emotional issues,” said Stipek, who helped develop the new PreK-3 credential.

    Merrigan, for one, will never forget the year her son Andrew had a teacher who didn’t seem to prioritize emotional validation. It was hard on both of them.

    “He was a rule follower, and he just wanted to please his teacher,” she remembers. “The constant look of defeat on his little face when he got home from school was heartbreaking.  I don’t ever want a child to feel that way.”

    Bonding might even be a secret weapon in the battle against chronic absenteeism, which has skyrocketed in the wake of the pandemic, experts suggest. USC researchers found that students of all ages who miss an excessive amount of school often suffer from mental and emotional issues. They may need to feel nurtured, experts say. 

    “To the degree that parents keep kids home from school because the kids say they don’t want to go,” said Stipek, “children’s relationship with the teacher should be an important factor.”

    Merrigan, who herself remembers faking being sick a few times as a child, couldn’t agree more.

    “When it comes to truancy, sometimes a child will fake being sick because they just want to take a day off to spend with family,” Merrigan said. “I’ve found most young children want to be in school; they thrive off the consistent expectations for them.  Of course, that’s in a school where children know their teachers and staff truly care about them.”





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  • How can We Find a “Sweet Spot” that Challenges Our Learners?

    How can We Find a “Sweet Spot” that Challenges Our Learners?


    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxf5iOQP0J0

    Introduction

    Rigor is often discussed among educators, but can be misunderstood. While rigor involves high standards for every student, it is essential to pair these standards with the right support. Creating an environment that encourages both challenges and understanding can lead to students’ success. It is all about fostering productive struggle, where students are pushed to think critically, but are also supported just enough to make progress.

    What is the Productive Struggle?

    In their article, How Do We Find the Right Level of Challenge for Our Learners?, authors John Almarode, Douglass Fisher, and Nancy Frey explain that productive struggle happens when a task is hard enough to make learners think hard. It is important that learners receive the right help to stay motivated and not feel overwhelmed. Research, such as the Visible Learning MetaX, shows that productive struggle can lead to an average growth of 0.74 standard deviations. This significant improvement shows how effective it is to challenge students in their learning zones. Barbara Blackburn describes productive struggle as the perfect balance between giving help and letting learners work on their own.

    A productive struggle refers to different things for different students. Almarode, Fisher, and Frey stated that what is hard for one student might not be hard for another. Some students find things more difficult than others do. Therefore, the first step in finding the correct level of challenge is to understand what makes something complex or difficult.

    Complexity refers to the difficulty level of a learning task. For example, finding a figurative language is easier than comparing how different authors use it to help readers understand it. This is particularly true if the text is new to the reader. Similarly, understanding a historical document’s purpose, message, and audience is harder than simply listing the traits of a historical event, as noted by Almarode, Fisher, and Frey.

    Almarode, Fisher, and Frey stated that difficulty indicates how much effort is needed to complete a learning task, reach a goal, and meet success standards. For example, solving 25 math problems is more difficult than solving just two different math questions. This also involves the use of different strategies. Doing a complex lab experiment might be easier than performing the experiment and writing a detailed laboratory report. However, if I have already mastered the 25 math problems, they might not seem difficult for me. This shows how hard it is to find the right level of difficulty where a good challenge occurs. Ultimately, the effort is definitely worth it.

    Productive struggles encourage students to try different methods and learn from their mistakes instead of looking for quick answers. It values the learning process as much as the final result, indicating that facing challenges is important for growth.

    Once we understand what productive struggle is and how it affects students differently, it is important to know why encouraging this struggle helps students to learn deeply and believe in themselves.

    The Importance of Productive Struggle

    Lee Ann Jung, author of Thriving in the Zone of Productive Struggle, says that productive struggle is working hard on tough tasks. This is important for deep learning and confidence building. She explained this idea using Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development (ZPD). Knowing this helps to create challenges that help people grow.

    Jung discusses two ideas: mastery experiences and the zone of proximal development. Mastery experiences occur when we succeed in a struggle. The zone of proximal development is about giving students opportunities to push their limits, learn from mistakes, and succeed through hard work. Jung says it’s important to make learning fun and help students succeed, but we shouldn’t remove all challenges. Easy tasks might feel good but can stop students from understanding deeply and improving their skills. Jung cites “Without challenges, students might not grow up in important areas, such as thinking about their own thinking and perseverance” (Hiebert & Grouws, 2007).

    Jung says it’s important to know that even good things can have limits. When students face difficult challenges, they may feel that they cannot succeed. This struggle can make them feel overwhelmed, frustrated, or motivated. While challenges can help them grow, if they are too hard, students may start doubting themselves. This can lead to loss of confidence and avoidance of tasks. When problems seem too big, students might think they do not have the skills to succeed, affecting not just one task or subject but their overall confidence in school.

    What Struggle Qualifies as Productive?

    According to Barbara Blackburn, author of Productive Struggle is a Learner’s Sweet Spot, productive struggle occurs when students are challenged just enough to think hard but still get help to avoid frustration. It is not about giving students difficult tasks or leaving them alone. Instead, it means creating tasks that are slightly harder than what students can now do. This makes them try hard, make mistakes, and solve their problems. Students should work through challenges on their own before receiving help. This helps them to become more resilient, confident, and better at thinking critically. Teachers help only when students are stuck, often by asking questions instead of providing answers. This keeps students interested and motivated, without overwhelming them. In the end, productive struggle helps students learn more deeply, become more independent, and see challenges as opportunities to grow, not as things to avoid.

    See Productive Struggle in Action

    Barbara Blackburn suggests several specific activities to promote productive struggle in the classroom. One key activity is the use of the “Bump in the Road” metacognitive guide, where students read a less challenging text on a topic and identified two to four points where they encounter confusion or difficulty. They first attempt to resolve these struggles independently, then collaborate with a partner and only seek teacher assistance if needed. This process helps students build background knowledge and vocabulary, and prepare them for more complex texts and tasks.

    Another activity involves metacognitive guides that prompt students to write down their predictions or thoughts about a text, and then search for the author’s points and supporting evidence as they read. Some guides provided structured statements for students to agree or disagree with, encouraging them to locate information in the text and engage in group discussions by comparing their opinions with the content of the text.

    Blackburn also emphasizes the importance of using facilitating questions instead of giving direct answers when students struggle, such as asking if there is something in a previous paragraph that could help them or reminding them of similar problems they had solved before. This approach encourages critical thinking, persistence, and independence, allowing students to make multiple attempts, seek help from peers, and use other resources before teacher intervention

    Through these activities, Blackburn demonstrates how productive struggle can be intentionally built into lessons, supporting students as they develop resilience, a deeper understanding, and the ability to learn from challenges.

    How can a productive struggle be created in a classroom?

    From the Goyen Foundation, a blog on EMBRACING PRODUCTIVE STRUGGLE: WHY IT’s ESSENTIAL FOR LITERACY LEARNING by Jami Witherell provided answers in creating a productive struggle in the classroom. They are as follows:

    1. Create Challenges That Are Just Right: The goal is to strike a balance in which the challenge is demanding yet manageable. In literacy, this could involve selecting a reading selection that is slightly above a student’s current level or encouraging them to construct more intricate sentences. It is not about making tasks insurmountable but about finding the right level of difficulty to motivate.
    2. Normalize Making Mistakes: It is essential for students to understand that making mistakes is part of learning. This is where true growth occurs. Foster a classroom environment in which errors are viewed positively rather than negatively. In literacy, this could mean applying the editing process in writing or acknowledging a student’s ability to self-correct while reading.
    3. Pose Thought-Provoking Questions: Instead of providing immediate answers, the students were encouraged to think critically by asking open-ended questions. Queries like “What might you try next?” or “Which part of the word stands out to you?” inspires them to process information, which is their ultimate goal.
    4. Demonstrate Resilience: Finally, we illustrate to the students what it means to persist. Whether you are tackling a challenging text with them or sharing your own experiences of struggling through a literacy task, modeling resilience can significantly motivate students to persevere.
    Encouraging Learners Productive Struggle Image

    The photographs shown above were obtained from the Jackie Gerstein EdD. Gerstein wrote Letting Your Learners Experience Productive Struggle and she shows how to assist learners with their Productive Struggles.

    First, Gerstein allowed students to struggle.

    Second, Gerstein says to her learners, who struggle and want her to fix it – do it for them:

    • I know you can figure this out.
    • I will not do it for you. I have faith that you can do this.
    • You got this.
    • Take as much time as you need. There is no time limit.
    • Why do you not try _ minutes? If you do not get it by then, I will help you.
    • What steps can you take to achieve success?
    • Why do you not ask your classmates how they worked on the problem?
    • You might want to try something different.

    Conclusion

    Struggling was not something that was afraid of. This is the key aspect of learning. This helps students improve their reading, writing, thinking, and problem-solving skills. So, when you hear the word “struggle,” do not avoid it. Embrace it. This is where the real learning begins.



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  • How California can transform math education for English learners

    How California can transform math education for English learners


    Credit: Allison Shelley for American Education

    In California and across the country, English learners are too frequently an afterthought.

    Though they are one of the largest student groups — California has more than 1 million students who are learning English as a second language, and that number is growing — their academic performance has barely budged over the last two decades. According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), only 4% of English learners are proficient in eighth grade math, compared with 29% of non-English learners. Furthermore, NAEP reading scores revealed that only 10% of fourth grade English learners are proficient in reading, compared to 37% of non-English learners in the same grade.

    There are many reasons for this. But one of the most important is also one of the most fundamental: The textbooks and other instructional materials used in classrooms every day are typically not written with English learners in mind. While these textbooks may be rigorous and aligned with state standards, they lack the cultural relevance and language support necessary for students who are learning English. Teachers know this to be true. A survey found that 82% of teachers believe their current materials either somewhat or not at all reflect the needed academic rigor for English learners.

    Fortunately, California has an opportunity to start making this right. Next year, our State Board of Education will release its first math adoption list of state-approved curricula since 2014 — recommending math instructional materials that state education leaders believe align with California’s revised math framework. While some California districts have already started or completed their selection process, many districts in the state will soon choose a new math curriculum from that list.

    There is a common misconception that mathematical concepts transcend linguistic differences, so the needs of English learners shouldn’t be a concern. However, the reality is that language is critical for math instruction — and so math instruction materials that incorporate language support can help all learners. If the state recommends materials that center on the needs of English learners — and districts ultimately purchase and adopt them — we can make significant progress toward making our math curriculum more accessible for all students.

    Curriculum adoption may feel technical and esoteric, but it is essential to promote equity — especially for English learners. High-quality instructional materials serve as a “floor” for instruction, providing teachers with the materials they need to connect with every student in their classroom. 

    Unfortunately, our classrooms — especially those serving English learners — too often fail to reach that floor. A recent report from the Center for Education Market Dynamics revealed that California districts with greater percentages of English learners are the least likely to have adopted a new math curriculum. Many of those districts are waiting for the state adoption list before moving forward. This means that the adoption — and the curricula ultimately selected by districts — will have a dramatic effect on the academic experience of English learners, in particular.

    How can we get this process right? While California provides a list of state-approved curricula, it does not review instructional materials for specific populations, including English learners. This means districts and counties must figure out which math curriculum is most supportive of English learners. State leaders should provide guidance and resources to county offices of education so that districts are well positioned to run their own adoption processes. To support these efforts, California created math criteria that feature guides for how curriculum should support language and English learners. Districts should then base their curriculum selection on clear, research-based criteria focused on meeting the needs of all learners.

    Many districts in California and across the country are facing fiscal challenges due to the expiration of federal Covid-relief (ESSER) funding, declining student enrollment and other factors. This is likely to reduce the resources districts can target to the needs of English learners and other marginalized groups. 

    But selection and adoption of instructional materials is likely already in district budgets — and so, by picking an inclusive curriculum, district leaders can make significant headway on equity without significant additional investment. After all, it will always be more resource-intensive and less effective to supplement or modify curriculum after the fact.

    Additionally, teachers currently spend their own money on supplemental materials to fill gaps in existing curricula, a trend that is both unsustainable and inequitable. By adopting inclusive materials and ensuring teachers are supported in implementing those materials, districts will reduce these additional costs and provide a more cohesive and effective learning experience for all students.

    We are proud to say that California’s math vision is strong and there are many possibilities in terms of changing the way instruction happens in the classroom. It’s time to ensure that districts act wisely in their curriculum adoption. 

    School districts with high English learner populations need to come together and demand better options for our students. We have a chance to set the tone for the rest of the nation in developing and adopting instructional materials that truly support all students.

    It is time to invest in adopting educational resources that reflect our state’s — and our country’s — wonderfully diverse student population. 

    •••

    Crystal Gonzales is the founder and executive director of the English Learners Success Forum. Martha Hernandez is the executive director of Californians Together.

    The opinions expressed in this commentary represent those of the authors. EdSource welcomes commentaries representing diverse points of view. If you would like to submit a commentary, please review our guidelines and contact us.





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  • How to help kids and teens use the internet safely

    How to help kids and teens use the internet safely


    Two children use a laptop to go online.

    Credit: Mary Taylor / Pexels

    Not all screen time is created equal, and how kids spend it, whether creatively or passively, can make all the difference. 

    For instance, young children who watch a “Bluey” episode or play a memory game with their parents can build new cognitive and social-emotional skills early in their development. Also, teenagers can and have used their online networks to engage with social media-based mental health resources before they feel confident enough to reach out to a counselor or therapist.  

    But as children and adolescents have become increasingly isolated from their support systems at home and at school — exacerbated during the Covid-19 pandemic — they have become more vulnerable to threats such as cyberbullying and predatory behavior online. Kids’ first line of defense, ultimately, is an adult who has earned their trust and is able to guide them when necessary.

    According to the National Crime Victimization Survey, in 2022, 21.6% of students who were bullied said the bullying had happened online, a nearly 6 percentage-point jump from those reporting being bullied online in 2019. A 2021 survey by the National Crime Prevention Council found that only about a third of victims blocked their bully online, and only about a tenth told their parents about the incident.  

    New risks like AI-generated imagery and financial sexual extortion also contribute to the 87% increase in online child sexual abuse reports since 2019, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. As young children get online at earlier ages, preteens spend over half of their waking days on screens, and social media algorithms push harmful, addictive content to teen users, the threat of a dangerous interaction is often one unsolicited or derogatory message away. 

    Lawmakers and school administrators across the country are tackling online safety and well-being with policies such as banning cellphones in schools and restricting addictive algorithms on children and teenagers’ social media feeds. For Fareedah Shaheed, a children’s online safety expert, prevention and intervention start with the adults — parents, teachers and school counselors — interacting with kids on a daily basis.

    Children’s online safety expert and consultant Fareedah Shaheed.

    “I see the real change in those interpersonal relationships between (educators) and parents, people exchanging information they can use to start talking to (each other),” Shaheed told school administrators, counselors, teachers and advocates at a student wellness conference. “I believe the biggest impact is on the ground.” 

    EdSource interviewed Shaheed about her experiences and how adults can help keep young people safe online. Her remarks have been edited for length and clarity. 

    What can students learn about online safety from your early internet experiences? 

    When I was 13, I got my first smartphone. I started playing mobile games and talking to strangers online. I had a near miss with an online predator. I was (planning on) meeting someone at 16, when he was 40 years old. I was a very private teenager, and I kept my online life secret. So the only reason why I told my mom, ‘Hey, I’m just going to meet this guy that I met at an online game in the park,’ was because I was her only child, and I felt like it was the mature thing to tell her where I was going. But I wasn’t asking her for permission because she would’ve said no. 

    She knew that this was really serious if I was telling her this, because she knew I was a very private person. But she didn’t ask to look into my phone. And instead of her taking away my phone, getting upset with me, she just wanted to know, ‘Who’s this person? What’s his name? Why did you connect? Why do you like him? Why do you want to meet?’ And that changed my entire life because she came to me as an experienced friend, and I decided I did not want to go. That conversation saved me. From those experiences being groomed online and talking to strangers as a kid, I went into cybersecurity and threat intelligence, and I started doing workshops with organizations to raise awareness and then create some actionable impact on internet safety for kids.

    What concerns about online safety do you hear from parents, educators and school counselors?

    I hear a lot of stories about cyberbullying, kids talking to strangers online, being addicted to social media and making comparisons (online.) The hardest stories to hear are when parents lose their children. They lose their child through suicide, or they lose their child’s (trust) to someone targeting them. I heard from one parent that her son, who was groomed as a (child), was now grooming another child. The mental turmoil that she went through as a parent completely took her out. She came back from that, and told me her son is in therapy now (unpacking) his own history of abuse. She’s looking back at her life and retracing her steps as a parent, thinking, “What the hell did I do wrong?” 

    I advise parents to prioritize safe spaces, accountability, fun and empathy to protect kids online. We also have discussions over time about mental health resources and helping kids create a community around a shared problem, such as an after-school program for kids experiencing bullying. Many school counselors can also have a closer relationship with the student only because there is that degree of separation of, “You’re not my parent, and you’re not trying to control my life.” In certain circumstances, counselors have an easier time becoming the experienced friend role. 

    How have these threats, such as cyberbullying, grooming and sextortion, changed since you first used the internet?

    We would always tell kids, “Don’t share pictures of yourself with other people, especially strangers,” right? Now you have AI (artificial intelligence). We’re at a point where it doesn’t matter if you don’t share (photos), someone can create something that looks real. I didn’t grow up with that. That’s a whole different ballgame. So I believe we have to act like everyone has been in this situation — anyone can experience extortion — and have mental health (resources) for those who are experiencing or experience this at some point. 

    New developments like AI can often feel inaccessible to parents and educators. How can adults protect kids if they don’t entirely understand the threat in the first place?

    You don’t have to know more than your kids to protect them. You don’t have to be tech-savvy to protect them. You don’t have to know all the new slang to protect your kids, because what predators want are parents staying in the darkness. When you’re thinking about sextortion, AI, cyberbullying, predatory behavior, inappropriate content, screen time, all of these things rely on one domino effect. If you research the predatory handbook for targeting kids on Roblox or Minecraft, they’re not saying, “We want parents who don’t understand technology or the newest thing.” They’re saying, “We want parents who don’t know what their kids are going through emotionally.” They want parents who themselves struggle with mental illness, lack support or resources and feel isolated. That’s why the resources that will help protect kids are also support for parents — financial, self-care, mental health. That’s what matters more than parents knowing the latest thing. 

    Can school cellphone bans help protect kids online?

    I believe there’s a better way to do it. Schools are trying to introduce something new to solve a huge problem, and I do believe that it’s necessary, but I don’t believe “ban” is the best term. I think “policy” is the best term. I believe schools have to have the students be part of the decision, otherwise it’s going to create a lot of friction. If the students are part of the decision, you understand how students are using the cellphone and how they can use it in a way that’s according to the policy and what’s best for them. 

    Many students don’t approach school counselors about their online problems, and many might not recognize that online interaction could be unsafe or outside the norm. In that case, how can schools better identify the issue and intervene?

    Schools can help by giving them the tools to solve a problem that they don’t see, because the adults are not in control of what happens. Counselors can provide educational programs about mental health resources, talking through online scenarios and explaining the tools (students) can use to deal with a situation so that they can, one, identify it for themselves, and then two, know how to self-regulate. They can slowly work themselves out of the situation, whether it’s removing themselves from the relationship, blocking somebody, reporting somebody — no one has to know. Sometimes you can remove yourself from a situation and not have to talk to somebody about it. There should be resources for them when they need to talk about it and provide that support, but it’s also about making it normal to have those conversations in school, letting them hear different stories from other people, teaching them red flags and how to identify their own discomfort. 

    Can online threats present differently, especially for students in marginalized communities? 

    [A 2022 survey found that Black teens are about twice as likely as Hispanic or white teenagers to say they were targeted online for their race. Teenagers who identify as part of the LGBTQ community also face more harassment online related to their identities, including hateful language or sexual victimization, and have been found to be more susceptible to cyberbullying.]

    Whether it was being a Black gamer girl online or posting on social media as a Black girl, I spent my entire childhood being bullied for being Black and for being the only Black girl in classes a lot of the time. It’s harder for kids from these backgrounds to have the tools and support systems to deal with the (bullying). So if there are other minority or underrepresented communities, they can also have that community at school. I’ve seen schools that have groups like Black Gamer Girl clubs — these five students that meet every Thursday after school, for example — that are really helpful for their mental health and for them to feel safe online. Schools can also have classes that serve them, in particular by giving them tools to deal with bullying, having conversations about what they see online if they’re creating content, how they make sense of someone saying something horrible about them, and then how to walk through that and emotionally regulate. 

    Teenagers also seek emotional support and information about their identities online. How can they identify the line between dangerous interactions and ones that might feel new and uncertain — and a little uncomfortable for parents — but might also help them feel more secure in themselves?

    [For example, transgender and queer students often find acceptance in online communities known to reduce reports of depression and suicidal thoughts in LGBTQ youth. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many reported being stuck at home with unsupportive parents, flocking to online communities for acceptance.] 

    It’s so much better for your child to be involved in communities that you may be uncomfortable with when you’re there to support them, even in your discomfort, than for your child to go behind your back and not tell you and get a burner phone. Most of the time, the community that your child is connecting with online is going to be OK, so long as they have your support and someone to talk to. It becomes dangerous when the parent or caretaker can’t be involved because the child thinks that they can’t share their experiences. 

    I loved anime. I loved cosplaying. I loved gaming. And the online world has a lot of communities that understand you, you feel safe and that you’re in a non-judgmental space. But then, when you go to school or are with your parents or friends who are outside that space, they might make you feel like you’re different or too much or too little or weird. The reason why I started talking to strangers wasn’t because I love talking to strangers, but because I didn’t feel accepted elsewhere. If you’re a teenager and you’re worried about your best friend speaking with older strangers online, for example, the best thing you can do is stay in their life in whatever capacity is safe for you. When something happens, you can be there for them in whatever capacity you have and help them out of that situation. 

    What advice do you have for educators and parents trying to introduce young children to the online world in a positive way?

    When children are younger than 7 or 8, it’s all about play and their association with you and play, being there with them in the environment, eye contact and engaging with them. Sensical, from Common Sense, is a great organization that has screen time suggestions based on age that are fun and joyful. As children get older, (parents and educators) can start introducing more teaching concepts. For some digital literacy resources and activities, you have FBI Safe Online Surfing, Google’s Be Internet Awesome and Net Smartz Kids. Fun is one of the most underrated ways to protect kids online and help them with screen time too. It doesn’t matter if the online activity is the greatest activity in the world, if a teacher is stressed out, in what way can you find fun in the activity? For early educators like preschool teachers and kindergarten teachers, anytime I do a workshop with a school, I ask, “What do you need? What are you seeing? What is your capacity? What is the kids’ capacity? What are their ages, their background?” Then, we create something customized for them. But (educators) shouldn’t shy away from technology.





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  • The Atlantic: The Inside Story of How Trump Regained Power: “I Run the Country and the World”

    The Atlantic: The Inside Story of How Trump Regained Power: “I Run the Country and the World”


    The Atlantic published a fascinating story about Donald Trump’s surprising return from what seemed to be the disastrous end of his political career in 2021 to regain the presidency in 2024.

    In 2021, he left the White House in disgrace: twice impeached, leader of a failed and violent effort to overturn the election, so bitter that he skipped Joe Biden’s inauguration. For four years, with the exception of an occasional slip of the tongue, he nourished the fantasy that he was the rightful winner in 2020.

    Surely there were Republicans who thought he was finished, as did all Democrats. I remember how thrilled I was to think that I would never again have to see his face or hear his voice.

    His redemption began when Congressman Kevin McCarthy flew to Mar-a-Lago to pay homage to Trump. Trump spent most of the last four years plotting and planning for his return.

    The article was written by Atlantic staffers Ashley Parker and Michael Scherer.

    It begins with the story of how they won an interview with Trump. They filled out forms describing the reason for the interview and thought their request might be approved. But Trump personally rejected them, denouncing the reporters and the magazine as part of the leftist effort to embarrass him. Trump called Ashley Parker a “radical left lunatic.”

    The reporters had spent many hours preparing for the interview, and they were determined to land it.

    Soon after they were turned away, they decided to try another route. They obtained Trump’s private cell number, and they called him. He answered his phone, and they had a long conversation. During the conversation, he said matter-of-factly, “I run the country and I run the world.”

    Humility was never his strong suit.

    Trump eventually agreed to sit with them for an interview in the Oval Office with them and the magazine’s editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg, who had been accidentally invited to be part of Defense Secretary’s Signal conversation about bonbing Yemen.

    This is a must-read.



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  • How California teachers have navigated a contentious presidential election

    How California teachers have navigated a contentious presidential election


    Oakland High teacher Rachel Reinhard guides her students through the functions of the legislative branch during a U.S. Government class last week.

    Credit: Andrew Reed / EdSource

    In the months preceding this week’s election, some California history and social studies teachers have proceeded cautiously in covering the presidential campaign, while others have embraced the opportunity confidently and comprehensively.  But most included instruction about the presidential election in their courses, according to responses to an EdSource survey of California history and social science teachers.  

    Their responses underscore that most teachers understood the potential pitfalls of teaching politics in polarized times, compounded by a contagion of misinformation on social media. (Go here to read the questionnaire.)

    “A lot of kids are turned off about government and politics. We in the classroom are giving them a sense of access and empowerment,” said Rachel Reinhard, who teaches 12th grade U.S. History and Government at Oakland High School. “We’re showing that elections are ways that individuals can exert power on the system and make sense of an incredibly fast-paced and changing world.”

    Yet some teachers have struggled to explain how Republican Donald Trump’s rhetoric, threats of retribution, and vows to expel undocumented immigrants have added anxiety to an unprecedentedly tense and divisive election.

    “The dilemma for any responsible teacher right now is to explain the stakes while being nonpartisan,” said Mike Fishback, who teaches seventh- and eighth-grade social studies at Almaden Country Day School, a private school in San Jose.

    The California Council for the Social Studies agreed to send EdSource’s survey to its 2,000-member email list, which includes more than 500 active members, most of them teachers. Of those, 64 teachers — about 1 in 8 member teachers — returned the survey by the Oct. 16 deadline. EdSource did not require teachers to submit their names or their schools, although 16 teachers did identify themselves, and many said they were willing to be contacted for an EdSource article.

    Among the top-line results of the survey:

    • More than three-quarters of teachers who answered the survey said they are teaching about the election and the presidential campaign, and most of those who aren’t said it was their choice, not a district mandate.
    • Asked if they planned to discuss the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol, 37% said no, 29% said yes, and 34% said maybe.
    • Asked if they planned to discuss potential election interference, 39% said no, 23% said yes, and 38% said maybe.
    • Asked to express their level of concern about student incivility in dealing with the election, 44% said they were slightly or not at all concerned; 23% said they were somewhat concerned; and 15% said they were moderately, very or greatly concerned. An additional 19% said they were neutral on the issue.

    Inoculating for incivility

    Creating a classroom culture of respect is critical to promoting openness and avoiding disrespect amid disagreements, Barrett Vitol, a U.S. History and Government teacher at Aptos High in Pajaro Valley Unified, told EdSource. He characterized the district as politically and economically diverse with “extreme wealth and hard poverty,” where some students in farmworker families “are genuinely worried” about the outcome of the election.

    “When we come together in August, we spend a lot of time helping to build community,” said Vitol, who said he shares with students his own experience as a volunteer for the 2000 Democratic presidential campaign for then Vice President Al Gore.

    “You have to role model someone who will be politically active without disrespecting other people,” he said, adding that he also relies on humor to defuse tensions.

    Bob Kelly, a U.S. History and Government teacher at the 500-student Minarets High and Charter High School in Chawanakee Unified, also set class norms early in the year, with a “social compact that holds the students accountable to being respectful to each other,” he said. The rural school district abuts Yosemite National Park.

    Bruce Aster, who teaches U.S. Government at Carlsbad High School, said that his goal “is to teach civil discourse from day one.” He tells his students, ‘If you demonize your opponent, you will not get their ears.’ That’s a big theme in all my classes.”

     Many of the teachers cited guides and resources they drew on to promote civil dialogue, bridge differences of opinion and lay out frameworks for discussions. Popular sources include Braver Angels, a volunteer-led national nonprofit, and Boston-based Facing History and Ourselves, which offers lessons, explainers and activities on teaching the election.

    While sources of misinformation have proliferated on the internet, so have tools to expose them. Teachers pointed to sites like adfontesmedia.com, AllSides.com and mediafactcheck.com that analyze news sources’ reliability and point to alternative sources with different political perspectives.

    Reinhard refers to encouraging students to seek trustworthy and accurate news sources as building a “muscle memory.”

    “I am hoping they would create a habit to counter what they are seeing on social media,” said Reinhard, who is in her second year teaching high school in Oakland after serving as director of the UC Berkeley History-Social Science Project; it supports K-12 teachers in planning for history instruction.

    Oakland High teacher Rachel Reinhard interacts with students during a U.S. Government class last week.
    Credit: Andrew Reed / EdSource

    Karen Clark Yamamoto, who chairs the history department at Western High in the Anaheim Union High School District, said students found the revelations of bias in their favorite sites enlightening. “They realized, ‘I don’t know as much as I thought I did,’” she said.

    To help students clarify their own political views, several teachers had students take the Pew Media Typology Quiz, whose questions reveal whether students have conservative or liberal philosophies.  

    Classroom priorities and strategies  

    The EdSource questionnaire asked teachers to describe the focus of their instruction and their plans for covering the election. The consensus was that a teacher should give students the tools to make informed choices about candidates and ballot issues.

    James Yates, a teacher at Stellar Charter School in Redding, wrote, “I will teach my students how to investigate each candidate. I want them to look past the rumors and prejudice to see who will really help our country thrive.”

    Kelly wrote, “We focus on helping the students make sense of the offices, candidates and propositions by understanding which issues matter to them the most.”

    “Essentially, we focus on students informing themselves and using their own ideology to decide what is best,” said Jon Resendez, a U.S. Government and Economics teacher at Portola High in Irvine Unified. He has found that students, unlike some of their parents, are open when forming their political beliefs. 

    Irvine Unified teacher Jon Resendez discusses the political philosophy of the Declaration of Independence during a recent class at Portola High.
    Credit: Kaushika (Kaushi) Palliboyina

    “It’s normal for teenagers to be more flexible than adults in their perspective as they learn more,” he said. “They adjust their voting behavior.”

    Little outside criticism

    Slightly more than a third of teachers responded to the question about whether they had experienced any criticism from teaching about the presidential election. The majority — 16 of 23 — said they had not, but five reported being criticized by parents, three by students and two by administrators or other colleagues. 

    All eight teachers EdSource spoke with said they were unconcerned about parental pressure or criticism.

    “No parents are reaching out to express concern,” said Resendez. “Parents assume we will tackle issues head-on.”

    Kelly, of Chawanakee Unified, uses his students’ work to inform parents about the elections. His students created election guides that they shared at the school’s back-to-school showcase in late October. It included separate objective profiles of Democrat Kamala Harris and Trump, drafted by students chosen because they didn’t support the candidates, Kelly said, along with summaries of local candidates and statewide ballot propositions.

    At his back-to-school night, Fishback, of the Almaden County Day School in San Jose, encourages parents of his middle school students to discuss election issues and candidates with them.

    He said that he tells them, “’I need you. If you have not passed along your political values, now is the time to do it. I want them to come to class knowing what families believe and why. My job is to help the students encounter and engage with different perspectives on a variety of contentious issues.’ ”

    What the teachers taught and how

    The survey asked teachers to check off a list of topics for presenting the presidential election and to add to it. Of 48 teachers who responded to the question, 37 said they reviewed candidates’ positions on key issues and 35 discussed the Electoral College; 28 asked students to explain issues that are important to them and 23 included fact-checking candidates’ claims and statements. Fifteen said they discussed claims that there would be widespread voter fraud.

    One teacher included discussing gerrymandering, and another said classes would focus on differences among political parties but not the candidates themselves.

    The teachers reported that they approached the topics with different strategies. Some had students participate in the traditional statewide mock election organized by the California Secretary of State or held their own elections. Some teachers held candidates’ debates, while others intentionally did not, focusing instead on objective analyses of candidates’ positions and the accuracy of media coverage.

    “I’m not interested in debates,” said Reinhard of Oakland High. “Debates often create false parity. I’m not interested in having students try to win a debate around some information I find problematic.”

    Yamamoto asks her students in Anaheim to pick five issues they care about and investigate the positions of the parties and the candidates’ websites to determine which party more closely aligns with their views. Inflation, health care and reproductive rights were among the issues. They did the same process with the 10 state initiatives on the ballot.

    Barrett organized a model Congress for his students at Aptos High. Students wrote their own bills and had to persuade committee chairs and each legislative house to pass them. “Extreme” bills on immigration didn’t make the cut; those that did pass include creating affordable health care, limiting homework, requiring those over 70 to take an extra diving test, taxing billionaires, and granting immigrants who pay taxes for five years a path to citizenship, he said.

    Some students become deeply invested in their bills, but usually they can control themselves, Barrett said.

    Aster, of Carlsbad, and Kelly, of Chawanakee Unified, continued what they have done for years: bringing in outside speakers to represent parties and candidates for a debate run by students. “We seek regular folks, not politicians,” said Aster. “It’s always civil, and students see that you can be gracious while speaking strongly.”

    Several teachers said they didn’t avoid controversy, including looking at the rhetoric of the campaign: Trump’s racist language and post-election authoritarian threats and Democrats’ calling him a “fascist” and a “clown.” But students looked at the furor through an analytical lens to keep discussions “from going off the rails,” said Fishback. He asked his students, How would you characterize Trump, and what has been the impact of his language on the campaign?

    Most teachers emphasized they kept their own presidential preferences to themselves. “I work hard to be objective; I want it to be a mystery as to my views, though I don’t want them to think I don’t care,” said Aster. Kelly said he would tell students after the election whom he voted for if they asked.

    “As much I like to lean into politics, the line I don’t cross is siding with one candidate over another,” said Fishback.

    Seeing themselves as voters

    Aster has been teaching high school for more than three decades.

    “I see part of my job is to be a cheerleader for the American system and to have them look forward to participating in it,” Aster said.  “I don’t want them to come away thinking the system is rigged.”

    Last spring, when it appeared likely to be Trump vs. Joe Biden, students in Reinhard’s Government class at Oakland High had no interest in the election. “They were deadened by it,” she said. The nomination of Harris, the hometown candidate and a younger woman of color, however, at least sparked interest, she said.

    More findings in the EdSource Questionnaire
    • The teachers were from all regions of the state, with 27% from Southern California, 17% from the Central Valley and Central Coast and 17% from the San Francisco Bay Areas, 14% from the Sacramento area, 10% from Northern California, 9% from the San Diego area and 3% from the Inland Empire of San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
    • Of the teachers who said they aren’t teaching about the presidential election, only three – two who teach in a largely Democratic district and one from a largely Republican district – said it was their school’s and/or district’s policy not to discuss the subject. Another teacher is discussing the election but not the candidates.
    • Offered multiple choices to explain their reasons for not teaching the election to their students, the majority said there is too much other course material to get through, especially AP courses in U.S. History and Economics and one semester in Government. However, one-third of the 24 respondents to this question said they were concerned about complaints from parents, and five teachers said they had reservations that students would discuss the election respectfully. Five teachers said they were unsure how to address the subject.
    • Teachers were evenly split on how much time to spend on the election, with 39% of 49 respondents spending more than one week on it and 39% spending between two days and a week. Several said they spread discussion of the election out over time, based on topics in the courses they were teaching, and another teacher said five to 10 minutes per day.
    • Most of the respondents were high school teachers who teach multiple subjects; 43% introduced the election in a 12th grade Government course, while 42% taught it in 11th grade American History; 27% taught it in 9th grade Ethnic Studies and 25% introduced it in 10th grade World History. A quarter of respondents were middle school social studies teachers. Individual teachers taught it in AP Psychology, ninth grade Geography, and an English course in persuasive essays.





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  • Catherine Rampell: Why Does Trump’s Regime Have Your Data and How Will They Use It?

    Catherine Rampell: Why Does Trump’s Regime Have Your Data and How Will They Use It?


    Catherine Rampell is an opinion writer for The Washington Post who writes often about economics. She focuses here on the expansion of data collection by the Trump administration, even as it ceases to collect anonymous data about health trends. What worries me is the invasion of privacy by the DOGE team, who scooped up personally identifiable data from the IRS and Social Security about everyone, including you and me. Why did they want it? What will they do to it?

    She writes:

    It’s rarely comforting to appear on a government “list,” even (or perhaps especially) when compiled in the name of public safety.

    It was alarming in the 1940s, when the U.S. government collected the names of Japanese Americans for internment. Likewise in the 1950s, when the House Un-American Activities Committee catalogued communists. And it’s just as troubling now, as the Trump administration assembles registries of Jewish academics and Americans with developmental disabilities.

    Yes, these are real things that happened this past week, the latest examples of the White House’s abuse of confidential data.

    Last week, faculty and staff at Barnard College received unsolicited texts asking them whether they were Jewish. Employees were stunned by the messages, which many initially dismissed as spam.

    Turns out the messages came from the Trump administration. Barnard, which is affiliated with Columbia University, had agreed to share faculty members’ private contact info to aid in President Donald Trump’s pseudo-crusade against antisemitism.

    Ah, yes, a far-right president asking Jews to register as Jewish, in the name of protecting the Jews, after he has repeatedly accused Jews of being “disloyal.” What could go wrong?

    The same day, National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya announced a “disease registry” of people with autism, to be compiled from confidential private and government health records, apparently without its subjects’ awareness or consent. This is part of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s vendetta against vaccines, which he has said cause autism despite abundant research concluding otherwise.

    This, too, is disturbing given authoritarian governments’ history of compiling lists of citizens branded mentally or physically deficient. If that historical analogue seems excessive, note that Bhattacharya’s announcement came just a week after Kennedy delivered inflammatory remarks lamenting that kids with autism will never lead productive lives. They “will never pay taxes, they’ll never hold a job,” he said, adding they’ll never play baseball or go on a date, either.

    This all happened during Autism Acceptance Month, established to counter exactly these kinds of stigmatizing stereotypes. Kennedy’s comments and the subsequent “registry” set off a wave of fear in the autism advocacy community and earned condemnation from scientists.

    Obviously, advocates want more research and support for those with autism. They have been asking for more help at least since 1965 (when what is now called the Autism Society of America was founded in my grandparents’ living room). But few in this community trust political appointees hostile to scientific research — or a president who has publicly mocked people with disabilities — to use an autism “registry” responsibly.

    (An unnamed HHS official later walked back Bhattacharya’s comments, saying the department was not creating a “registry,” per se, just a “real-world data platform” that “will link existing datasets to support research into causes of autism and insights into improved treatment strategies.” Okay.)

    These are hardly the administration’s only abuses of federal data. It has been deleting reams of statistical records, including demographic data on transgender Americans. It has also been exploiting other private administrative records for political purposes.

    For example, the Internal Revenue Service — in an effort to persuade people to pay their taxes — spent decades assuring people that their records are confidential, regardless of immigration status. The agency is in fact legally prohibited from sharing tax records, even with other government agencies, except under very limited circumstances specified by Congress. Lawmakers set these limits in response to Richard M. Nixon’s abuse of private tax data to target personal enemies.

    Trump torched these precedents and promises. After a series of top IRS officials resigned, the agency has now agreed to turn over confidential records to help Immigration and Customs Enforcement locate and deport some 7 million undocumented immigrants.

    The move, which also has troubling historical echoes, is being challenged in court. But, in the meantime, tax collections will likely fall. Undocumented immigrant workers had been paying an estimated $66 billion in federal taxes annually, but they now have even more reason to stay off the books.

    This and other DOGE infiltrations of confidential records are likely to discourage public cooperation on other sensitive government data collection efforts. Think research on mental health issues or public safety assessments on domestic violence.

    But that might be a feature, not a bug, for this administration. Chilling federal survey participation and degrading data quality were arguably deliberate objectives in Trump’s first term, when he tried to cram a question about citizenship into the 2020 Census. The question was expected to depress response rates and help Republicans game the congressional redistricting process.

    Courts ultimately blocked Trump’s plans. That’s what it will take to stop ongoing White House abuses, too: not scrapping critical government records, but championing the rule of law.

    Ultimately, the government must be able to collect and integrate high-quality data — to administer social programs efficiently, help the economy function and understand the reality we live in so voters can hold public officials accountable. None of this is possible if Americans fear ending up on some vindictive commissar’s “list.”



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